Yesterdays: Blackfeet Indian Writing Company
Rex Brown at the site of his new mill in Coram in March, 1954. (Mel Ruder photo)
70 years ago
March 12, 1954
Rex Brown was building a new lumber mill in Coram that would run entirely on electricity. Flathead Electric Co-op would provide power to the 500 horsepower worth of motors that would serve the $200,000 mill. About $2 million worth of transformers had arrived by rail for the new Anaconda Aluminum Co. plant.
60 years ago
March 4, 1964
Columbia Falls lost to top-ranked Missoula in the divisional tourney, 68-60, but still punched their ticket to state by beating Libby and Great Falls Central. Missoula had a 40-game winning streak at the time. The Wildcats were led by Hall of Famer Bill Schulte and coach Ralph Johnson. They were the only former class B school to make the tournament. The Cats had taken second in the Class B state tourney the year before.
50 years ago
March 15, 1974
The one-room Essex School was still going strong at the time, with 13 students. Front page photo featured Mount Stimson in Glacier National Park. It is the highest point in Flathead County at 10,142 feet.
40 years ago
March 15, 1984
The Blackfeet Indian Writing Company was making an average of 600,000 pencils, markers and pens a day. A company was considering putting in an FM Radio station in Columbia Falls at the corner of Talbott Road and Veterans Drive.
30 years ago
March 10, 1994
The Hungry Horse Dam decided against large drawdowns to help downstream salmon runs after Gov. Marc Racicot threatened to sue the federal government over the releases, saying they were too large. Today the argument has been in reverse, with people complaining that not enough water is being released to fill Flathead Lake.
20 years ago
March 11, 2004
There was a debate on whether to blast avalanche zones above the tracks near Marias Pass after a large freight train with more than 100 cars was knocked off the tracks by an avalanche. The problem was the area above the tracks was in Glacier Natioanl Park and blasting could impact wintering wildlife.
10 years ago
March 12, 2014
The Columbia Falls drama club was putting on the musical “Bye Bye Birdie.” Mark Hader was one of the stars of the show. Columbia Falls won the state A boys championship.